Beaver Creek Valley State Park

 

 

     
 
About
 
 

Ownership

 
 

Minnesota DNR logo

 
     
 

Links

 
 

Minnesota DNR

 
     
 

Overview

 
 

 

 
     
 

History

 
 

 

 
     
 

Management

 
 

 

 
     
 

Comments

 
 

 

 
     
 
Location
 
 

Maps

 
 

all season map

 
         
 

Printable Map(s) with GPS coordinates

 
         
         
 

Size

 
 

1,216 acres statutory, 706 owned

 
         
 

Parking

 
 

15954 County 1
Caledonia, MN 55921

N43 38.664, W91 34.737

 
         
 

Hours

 
 

Daily from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m.

 
         
 

Fees

 
 

Daily park permit: $7

Annual park permit: $35

 
         
 

Driving Directions

  Area and County  
 

Get driving directions from Google Maps to this destination from any address, and send those directions to your phone.

   
          Houston County  
          Southeast Minnesota  
     
 
Activities
 
 

Hiking Trails

 
 

8 miles

 
     
 

Hunting

 
 

The park may hold one or more managed hunts in the fall.

 
     
 
Ecology
 
 

Ecological Classification

  Ecological Classification  
  Ecological Province    

Eastern Broadleaf Forest Province

   
  Ecological Section    

Paleozoic Plateau

   
  Ecological Subsection    

The Blufflands

   
  Land Type Association    

Alluvial Plain

Altura Ridgetops

Brownsville Slopes

Caledonia Ridgetops

Elba Slopes

   
             
 

Native Plant Communities*

   
 

Algific Talus: Dolomite Subtype

Black Ash - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Blue Beech) Seepage Swamp

Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern)

Elm - Basswood - Black Ash - (Blue Beech) Forest

Mesic Limestone - Dolomite Cliff (Southern)

Mesic Sandstone Cliff (Southern)

Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland

Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest

Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest

Southern Dry Cliff

Southern Mesic Cliff

Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest

   
  * Source: The Minnesota Biological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological Resources      
         
 

Natural Features

     
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           
 
Visitor Photos
 
           
 

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Kirk Nelson

 
 

Pedestrian bridge over Beaver Creek (a sign nearby reads, "Only one person at a time")

 
    Beaver Creek Valley State Park      
           
 

Overlook near the Switch Back Trail

 
    Beaver Creek Valley State Park      
           
 

Beaver Creek, looking upstream from the pedestrian bridge

 
    Beaver Creek Valley State Park      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

Park Entrance

 
    Beaver Creek Valley State Park      

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Beaver Creek Valley State Park
Richard Sanders
  Beaver Creek Valley State Park  
 
About

Beaver Creek Valley State park - Minnesota

 

 

slideshow

       
 
Visitor Videos
 
       
 

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Other Videos
 
  Sarkar Family, USA Travel Beaver Creek Valley State Park August 2011
Gautam Sarkar
 
   
 
About

Uploaded on Aug 20, 2011

Sarkar Family, USA Travel Beaver Creek Valley State Park August 2011

   
  W4F - Webisode #7 - Fly Fishing "Beaver Creek Valley State Park" Camping and Fly Fishing
Wish4FishTV
 
   
 
About

Published on Sep 24, 2013

Ken Tanaka of Wish4Fish takes you Beaver Creek Valley State Park for some Fly Fishing and Camping.

   

 

Camcorder

           
 
Visitor Sightings
 
           
 

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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

Visits

5/22/1999   4/3/2009   4/11/2009        
 
 

Amphibians

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Amphibians and Reptiles List

 
 

Birds

 
 

Six bird species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Endangered

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus)

Special Concern

Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea)

Louisiana Waterthrush (Parkesia motacilla)

Purple Martin (Progne subis)

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Birds List

Minnesota DNR Bird Checklist

eBird Field Checklist

 
 

American Black Duck (Anas rubripes)

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

American Redstart (Setophaga ruticilla)

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata)

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)

Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis)

Eastern Kingbird (Tyrannus tyrannus)

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Veery (Catharus fuscescens)

White-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

 

American Robin

Canada Goose

Dark-eyed Junco

White-breasted Nuthatch

 
 

Fishes

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fishes List

 
 

Fungi and Lichens

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Fungi List

 
  Scarlet Cup (Sarcoscypha austriaca)   Scarlet Cup  
 

Insects and Arachnids

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Insects List

 
 

American lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

green blowfly (Lucilia sp.)

margined carrion beetle (Oiceoptoma noveboracense)

mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa)

pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

  margined carrion beetle  
 

Mammals

 
 

Two mammal species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Special Concern

little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus)

woodland vole (Microtus pinetorum)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Mammals List

 
 

fox squirrel (Sciurus niger)

whitetail deer (Odocoileus virginianus)

  fox squirrel  
 

Plants

 
 

Sixteen plant species with conservation status in Minnesota are found here:

Endangered

butternut (Juglans cinerea)

Iowa golden saxifrage (Chrysosplenium iowense)

Threatened

bog bluegrass (Poa paludigena)

glade fern (Diplazium pycnocarpon)

James’ sedge (Carex jamesii)

silverleaf grape (Vitis aestivalis var. bicolor)

spreading sedge (Carex laxiculmis var. copulata)

Special Concern

ebony spleenwort (Asplenium platyneuron)

Goldie’s woodfern (Dryopteris goldiana)

large-fruited black snakeroot (Sanicula trifoliata)

Short’s aster (Symphyotrichum shortii)

silver false spleenwort (Deparia acrostichoides)

squirrel corn (Dicentra canadensis)

twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla)

white wild indigo (Baptisia alba var. macrophylla)

yellow pimpernel (Taenidia integerrima)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas and Minnesota Biological Survey Vegetation Releves Plant List

 
 

Plants frequently found in:

Algific Talus: Dolomite Subtype CTs46a2

Black Ash - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Blue Beech) Seepage Swamp WFs57b

Dry Bedrock Bluff Prairie (Southern) UPs13c

Elm - Basswood - Black Ash - (Blue Beech) Forest MHs49b

Mesic Limestone - Dolomite Cliff (Southern) CTs33b

Mesic Sandstone Cliff (Southern) CTs33a

Oak - Shagbark Hickory Woodland FDs38a

Red Oak - Sugar Maple - Basswood - (Bitternut Hickory) Forest MHs38c

Red Oak - White Oak - (Sugar Maple) Forest MHs37b

Southern Dry Cliff CTs12

Southern Mesic Cliff CTs33

Sugar Maple - Basswood - Red Oak - (Blue Beech) Forest MHs39b

     
 

 

American basswood (Tilia americana var. americana)

American cow parsnip (Heracleum maximum)

American elm (Ulmus americana)

American hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana)

bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

blue vervain (Verbena hastata)

bristly buttercup (Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus)

bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa)

Canada goldenrod (Solidago canadensis)

Canada wildrye (Elymus canadensis)

common burdock (Arctium minus)

common evening primrose (Oenothera biennis)

common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

common motherwort (Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca)

common mullein (Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus)

common strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)

eastern false rue anemone (Enemion biternatum)

eastern prickly gooseberry (Ribes cynosbati)

eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana)

eastern white pine (Pinus strobus)

Greek valerian (Polemonium reptans var. reptans)

ground ivy (Glechoma hederacea)

hoary vervain (Verbena stricta)

May-apple (Podophyllum peltatum)

northern hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

northern pin oak (Quercus ellipsoidalis)

northern red oak (Quercus rubra)

orange daylily (Hemerocallis fulva)

paper birch (Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera)

plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera)

quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides)

Queen Anne’s lace (Daucus carota ssp. carota)

rue anemone (Thalictrum thalictroides)

scouring rush horsetail (Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine)

sharp-lobed hepatica (Anemone acutiloba)

showy goldenrod species complex (Solidago speciosa complex)

showy orchis (Galearis spectabilis)

silvergreen bryum moss (Bryum argenteum)

spotted water hemlock (Cicuta maculata var. maculata)

Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica var. virginica)

Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum)

white oak (Quercus alba)

wild blue phlox (Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii)

wild geranium (Geranium maculatum)

wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa)

winter cress (Barbarea vulgaris)

yellow marsh marigold (Caltha palustris var. palustris)

 

Anemone acutiloba (sharp-lobed hepatica)

Arctium minus (common burdock)

Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed)

Barbarea vulgaris (winter cress)

Betula papyrifera var. papyrifera (paper birch)

Bryum argenteum (silvergreen bryum moss)

Caltha palustris var. palustris (yellow marsh marigold)

Celtis occidentalis (northern hackberry)

Cicuta maculata var. maculata (spotted water hemlock)

Claytonia virginica var. virginica (Virginia spring beauty)

Daucus carota ssp. carota (Queen Anne’s lace)

Elymus canadensis (Canada wildrye)

Enemion biternatum (eastern false rue anemone)

Equisetum hyemale ssp. affine (scouring rush horsetail)

Fragaria virginiana (common strawberry)

Galearis spectabilis (showy orchis)

Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)

Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy)

Hemerocallis fulva (orange daylily)

Heracleum maximum (American cow parsnip)

Hydrophyllum virginianum var. virginianum (Virginia waterleaf)

Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (eastern redcedar)

Leonurus cardiaca ssp. cardiaca (common motherwort)

Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)

Ostrya virginiana var. virginiana (American hophornbeam)

Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip)

Phlox divaricata ssp. laphamii (wild blue phlox)

Pinus strobus (eastern white pine)

Podophyllum peltatum (May-apple)

Polemonium reptans var. reptans (Greek valerian)

Populus deltoides ssp. molinifera (plains cottonwood)

Populus tremuloides (quaking aspen)

Quercus alba (white oak)

Quercus ellipsoidalis (northern pin oak)

Quercus macrocarpa var. macrocarpa (bur oak)

Quercus rubra (northern red oak)

Ranunculus hispidus var. nitidus (bristly buttercup)

Ribes cynosbati (eastern prickly gooseberry)

Sanguinaria canadensis (bloodroot)

Solidago canadensis (Canada goldenrod)

Solidago speciosa complex (showy goldenrod species complex)

Thalictrum thalictroides (rue anemone)

Tilia americana (American basswood)

Ulmus americana (American elm)

Verbascum thapsus ssp. thapsus (common mullein)

Verbena hastata (blue vervain)

Verbena stricta (hoary vervain)

 

American cow parsnip

Canada goldenrod

common burdock

common mullein

eastern false rue anemone

Greek valerian

May-apple

Queen Anne’s lace

rue anemone

sharp-lobed hepatica

spotted water hemlock

Virginia spring beauty

wild geranium

 
 

Reptiles

 
 

Two reptile species with conservation status in Minnesota have been seen here:

Threatened

timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Special Concern

common five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus)

 
 

Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Amphibians and Reptiles List

 
  common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)   common garter snake  

 

 

Binoculars

 

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